


Red & Green

by GabesBeanie



Series: Merry Christmas, Darlin' [19]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: 25 Days of Christmas, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family Bonding, Gen, Huckleberry (OC) - Freeform, M/M, Red & Green, hispanic culture, tamales, teasing dads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-19 10:49:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13122189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GabesBeanie/pseuds/GabesBeanie
Summary: 19/25 Days of Christmas || Red & GreenJack is to fried chicken as Gabriel is to tamales.





	Red & Green

The kitchen was filled with warm steam, the robust scent of pork and chicken filling the space. The Reyes-Morrison family sat around their dining room table, hard at work and humming along to the festive music coming from the radio.

Gabriel had a large bowl of masa in front of him and another with soaked corn husks.

He carefully scooped up a ball of the masa dough, spreading it over the inside of a husk in an even layer. Satisfied, he slid it over to Jesse, who was in charge of spooning in the filling. These ones were the "red", so they got the pork-and-ancho mix. The green ones would get a green-chile-and-chicken blend.

He then carefully wrapped the husk around the filling, making sure to press the overlapping edges together securely before handing the little packet off to his dad who secured it with a red-dyed twine. It was added to a basket, nestled in between more matching bundles.

Making tamales was a newer tradition in their home. Gabriel used to reminisce back to when he was younger and his abuela would make homemade tamales for every holiday. For Christmas, she would round up the whole family to help her make dozens of them for their annual party.

"Si quieres comer, aprenderás a cocinar," she would always say, smacking away grubby hands with a wooden spoon.

Lacking in time and resources in more recent years, Gabriel would order tamales from a local woman for Christmas, just to keep the tradition alive.

Except a few years ago, she moved out of state and no one else made even remotely decent tamales in town.

Jack, not up to dealing with his husband's tantrum had snapped. "Just make them yourself if you're so picky!"

So he did.

Gabriel called up his cousins for the family recipe, searched online, and dug out old cookbooks to find a decent (and relatively uncomplicated) recipe.

The first time they had made a successful batch, they had left them on their spread for the Christmas party. They were gone almost immediately. Everyone loved them.

And so a tradition was born.

Every year they hosted the Christmas party in their home and made enough tamales to feed a small army. Their guests agreed to bring other dishes and desserts themselves to ease the burden of feeding an ever-growing crowd of friends.

The only thing was that making the tamales, especially that many, was a day-long event.

Luckily, Jesse had the day off, so he could hang out with his dads and help make the food. It was fun. And he could impress Hanzo with his culinary skills.

"How's work?" Jack asked him, tying another bundle together and putting it aside.

"Pretty good," Jesse said. "Miss Ana's got me learnin' how to make breads now."

"I swear that woman's not gonna let you leave at this rate," Jack laughed.

Jesse shrugged, "I mean, I ain't got any plans to leave in the near future. Miss Ana's a real nice boss, lets me have free drinks, and I even got a little raise this year."

Gabriel hummed, handing Jesse another husk to fill. "A part of me wants you to aim higher than a coffee shop, but you're doing well there, and I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Papí," Jesse grinned, nudging at his shoulder with his own.

A timer went off behind them and Jack hopped up to swap out the freshly steamed batch with their new one. He lifted the lid and took a huge whiff, "Ah, that smells good."

"I'm real glad you started makin' these yourself," Jesse agreed.

"Yeah, shit." Gabriel said, gesturing with his masa-covered hands. "No one in this town makes decent tamales anymore."

"You should sell 'em!" Jesse said.

Gabriel snorted, "You see how much work this takes, mijo? On top of us coaching the kids at school I wouldn't have the time."

Jesse huffed but conceded.

"How's that boyfriend of yours?" Gabriel asked instead.

"Hanzo's good. Seems he and his bro are figuring out what to do about those shits back in Japan." He sighed. "Thanks for the help, by the way. I know you guys must've run checks on him."

Jack flinched, "That obvious, huh?"

Jesse scoffed, "You've run checks on everyone I've brought home, even friends."

"Force of habit," Gabriel shrugged.

"Yeah, I know," Jesse chuckled, thinking back on his rough days. There was a reason those punks never stepped foot in this house. He wouldn't have let them, for one thing. Jesse might have done some stupid shit, but he was very careful not to let the gang touch his home life.

Nails clicked across the tile floor before Jesse felt Huckleberry's head hit his knee with a soft 'boof'. He leaned back in his chair to see his girl looking up at him with big brown eyes and a wagging tail.

"Well howdy there, lil missy," he cooed.

She licked her lips with a small whine.

"Dad! You got any treats?"

"For my grandbaby, always," Jack chuckled, pulling a container of treats from on top of the fridge. Huckleberry, the traitor, immediately ditched Jesse in search of treats, giving out a happy bark and running in a circle before plopping down hard on her butt in front of Jack.

"You know you gotta work for 'em," he teased, holding one up. She held up a paw for a shake. "Ah! You taught her a new trick!"

"Hanzo did, actually!" Jesse laughed, watching Huckleberry do a small assortment of tricks.

"He's a dog person, likes fried chicken, clearly never skipped arm day," Gabriel smirked, spreading out the last of the masa on a husk. "Sounds perfect for you."

Jesse flushed with a chuckle.

Gabriel honed in on him, "You're really far gone for him, huh?"

Jesse sighed, wrapping up the last tamale. "Yeah... Don't think I've ever... Not like..." He gave a frustrated grunt, unable to form his thoughts clearly.

Jack laughed from where he was sitting on the floor, Huckleberry plopped down between his legs and getting pets. "God, you remind me of myself when I met Gabe."

"Yeah, he got real stupid for me, it was adorable," Gabriel laughed. Jack flipped him off.

"Shut up, you were the one who asked me out first."

"Yup," Gabriel nodded. "Thought you had a cute butt."

Jack grinned.

"He and his brother are coming on Saturday, yeah?" Gabriel asked, gathering up the bowls and spoons to get started on the dishes.

"Yep, and one of Genji's friends," Jesse paused. "Or boyfriend. I dunno what they are."

"Should be a full house then," Jack chimed in, leaving Huckleberry behind with a pat to check on the steaming tamales. "And I don't want to hear a single peep about you making out with Hanzo in a corner."

"Aw, dad! Spoil all my fun." Jesse whined, flopping onto the floor, to Huckleberry's delight. "And hey! I know you two're gonna be all over each other!"

"My house, I can make out with my husband whenever I want," Gabriel bussed a quick kiss to Jack's cheek for emphasis.

Jesse groaned in defeat, "Y'all are gross and unfair."

"Shut up and help with the dishes, mijo," Gabriel laughed, flicking water at his son's face.

Jesse sputtered but got up, Huckleberry hot on his heels, the warmth of home and family around him.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Translations | Click "Back" on Browser to Return**  
>  Masa = a type of corn flour dough for making tortillas and tamales  
> Abuela = grandmother  
> Si quieres comer, aprenderás a cocinar. = If you want to eat, you will learn to cook.
> 
> =x=x=x=
> 
> This fic is inspired by my own family's traditions! We would eat red and green tamales every year for Christmas and tamale ladies are the best. My great grandma used to make tamales with the fam every sunday. Wish I coulda been there :'U (if you've never had a tamale, i highly recommend them. you can even find some decent ones in the store!)
> 
> Enjoy the fun times with the fam! And yes, Jack is completely smitten with Huckleberry. (Don't be fooled, Gabe is too)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! ^^
> 
>  
> 
> [Ko-Fi!](https://ko-fi.com/S6S35W8B)


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